Relationship Between Empathy and Language Proficiency in Adult Language Learners

This study reviews concepts and the mechanism of empathy, and the relationship between empathy and language proficiency, focusing on the aspect of cognitive empathy. It also discusses whether empathy levels could be developed by learning language to a highly proficient level. I compared the empathy levels between high and low proficiency second-language learners to determine if there was correlation between empathy and other factors such as gender, studying abroad, education background, and usage of a second language. I found that there was no relationship between empathy level and language proficiency level; however, there was one between empathy and gender. For further research, I suggest continuing studies in executive function in adults, especially adult bilinguals (including highly proficient second language learners), and to investigate how executive function in adults influences behavior and empathy development

Fuel Chip Supply System with Low Price Mobile Chippers

High price of chippers and small scale of forestry management area seemed to create a standstill situation of chip utilization system in Japan. By combining the benefits of small scale forestry and low price chippers, a simple and low-cost chip supply model could be established, creating new employments opportunities. The object of this study is to propose the benefits of a chip supply system in small scale forestry using multiple low price chippers at forest landings. The volume of chip material was ranged up to 56 000 m3 in a model area. The results showed that the annual labor cost of the proposed system was higher than that of the conventional system because the utilization ratio of chipper of the proposed system was also higher. The chip supply cost of the proposed system became lower than that of the conventional system because of its proper productivity and machine price. The utilization ratio of machine used in this study will be an important indice for creating employments when establishing chip supply chain. The benefits of the proposed system using multiple chippers are not only creating employments in local community but also bringing flexibility to a stable chip supply system and avoiding the risk of machine workouts and troubles. Therefore, the proposed system that introduces multiple lines using low price chippers will be useful for cost efficient management of small scale forestry and for providing sustainable bioenergy business

Winch Harvesting on Flat and Steep Terrain Areas and Improvement of its Methodology

With the increase of importance of bioenergy, the whole tree harvesting system was reconsidered. As a simple way of a whole tree harvesting system, this study analyzed two winching procedures in terms of productivity and influence from terrain conditions. One of the winching procedures was observed on flat terrain, where the felled trees were scattered and then, one-by-one, attached to the winch rope. The other was observed on a steep terrain, where the felled trees were concentrated in a line and then attached, at one time, to the winch rope. A significant difference caused by slope conditions appeared only in the reeling velocity. When increasing the harvested volume in a cycle, the productivity increased. The difference in productivity between two sites was slight with the same harvested volume. By the one-by-one procedure, the full volume harvested in a cycle was only skidded from the nearest felling points, while the bundled procedure skidded the full volume from various points including the farthest point. The one-by-one procedure will save the winch rope tension and reduce engine acceleration. Fuel consumption, therefore, will be decreased by applying the one-by-one procedure instead of the bundled procedure. Additionally, reducing the weight of felled trees by natural drying in a forest is effective for reducing fuel consumption not only in transportation but also in winching operation, and for enhancing the calorific value of bioenergy

Fuel Chip Supply System with Low Price Mobile Chippers

High price of chippers and small scale of forestry management area seemed to create a standstill situation of chip utilization system in Japan. By combining the benefits of small scale forestry and low price chippers, a simple and low-cost chip supply model could be established, creating new employments opportunities. The object of this study is to propose the benefits of a chip supply system in small scale forestry using multiple low price chippers at forest landings. The volume of chip material was ranged up to 56 000 m3 in a model area. The results showed that the annual labor cost of the proposed system was higher than that of the conventional system because the utilization ratio of chipper of the proposed system was also higher. The chip supply cost of the proposed system became lower than that of the conventional system because of its proper productivity and machine price. The utilization ratio of machine used in this study will be an important indice for creating employments when establishing chip supply chain. The benefits of the proposed system using multiple chippers are not only creating employments in local community but also bringing flexibility to a stable chip supply system and avoiding the risk of machine workouts and troubles. Therefore, the proposed system that introduces multiple lines using low price chippers will be useful for cost efficient management of small scale forestry and for providing sustainable bioenergy business

上海で見た、“ものを運ぶ方法”

特集 若手研究者からのレポート Voices of Young Scholars

05 Part 1 of “What Modern-Period Peep Karakuri Presented”“Taking a Peep at the Karakuri Device”

To understand the development of modern-period peep karakuri devices, I carried out two studies using various pictorial and written materials as well as devices kept at museums. The first study focuses on a boundary period from 1750 to just after 1770 apparent in various material on the modern peep karakuri device. The second study examines the association between Takeda karakuri and peep karakuri that occasionally emerges in materials of general modern history. The development of peep karakuri went through a rift when the Dutch introduced after 1770 the Western peep show that showed the night view. As a result, the Japanese incorporated a drawing method that created a sense of perspective and spaciousness. They converted the device to create the night view to suit their style. Such devices formed the basis of future peep karakuri. After identifying the presence of a rift in the history of peep karakuri, I examined the association with Takeda karakuri. The name nozoki karakuri （peep karakuri） derives from ‶peeping" the karakuri. Peep karakuri must have arrived from the West, since other examples of shows in boxes are not found in Japan, lenses are attached to the devices, and they are similar to the peep shows that existed in the West around the same time. Initially, it was used as it is to show landscapes and spaces with a sense of perspective. But as the Takeda karakuri gained popularity, people began to recreate simplified versions of the Takeda karakuri show in a box. Its figures were moved by pulling strings from the sides or back of the box. After 1770, a new type of peep karakuri arrived in Japan via the Dutch. Since then, two kinds of Japanese peep karakuri have emerged. One was shown under a sign reading ‶Takeda karakuri" or ‶Big karakuri," and the technique of ukiyo-e painting was used to create vast space, and the device showed day and night views. The other kind was a peep karakuri in which figures were manipulated by strings from the sides or back of the box. Only the name Takeda karakuri lived on in association with the peep karakuri that showed paintings.論

12 Relationship between Japanese Nozokikarakuri and European Peepshows

2008年度奨励研究成果論

Evaluation of Chipping Productivity with Five Different Mobile Chippers at Different Forest Sites by a Stochastic Model

It is important to evaluate chipping productivity that often differed according to the timing of observations and varied unexpectedly. A variation in production was the major concern of stakeholders for sustainable forest operation to establish regularly attainable production schedules on many operational levels. The aim of this study was to estimate the variance of chipping productivity by using a stochastic simulation model to achieve the objective evaluation of chipper performances. Chipping operations of five different kinds of mobile chippers, i.e. three smaller and two middle and larger ones in horse powers, were investigated. Probability distributions of material size and feeding time for chipping in a log-normal distribution were estimated. The estimates were made based on chipping operations performed 2000 or 4000 times by mechanical repetitions. Except for the largest chipper, whose observed productivity was 338 loose m3/hr, all of the observed productivities, varying from 18 to 68 loose m3/hr, were located within a two-sided confidential interval whose difference between both ends was 4 to 10 loose m3/hr. The estimates were, generally, reliable with small variances around the median productivity values in the model. By this stochastic model, chipper productivity could be shown objectively, while the accuracy would be improved more by increasing sample size and accurate material size measurement. It was elucidated that the operations followed by chipping should encompass enough volume capacity to provide stable chipping productivity

Rapid modification of antibodies on the surface of liposomes composed of high-affinity protein A-conjugated phospholipid for selective drug delivery

Antibody-modified liposomes, immuno-liposomes, can selectively deliver encapsulated drug ‘cargos’ to cells via the interaction of cell surface proteins with antibodies. However, chemical modification of both the antibodies and phospholipids is required for the preparation of immuno-liposomes for each target protein using conventional methods, which is time-consuming. In the present study, we demonstrated that high-affinity protein A- (Protein A-R28: PAR28) displaying liposomes prepared by the post-insertion of PAR28-conjugated phospholipid through polyethylene glycol (PEG)-linkers (PAR28-PEG-lipo) can undergo rapid modification of antibodies on their surface, and the liposomes can be delivered to cells based on their modified antibodies. Anti-CD147 and anti-CD31 antibodies could be modified with PAR28-PEG-lipo within 1 h, and each liposome was specifically taken up by CD147- and CD31-positive cells, respectively. The cellular amounts of doxorubicin delivered by anti-CD147 antibody-modified PAR28-PEG-lipo were significantly higher than those of isotype control antibody-modified liposomes. PAR28-PEG-lipo can easily and rapidly undergo modification of various antibodies on their surface, which then makes them capable of selective drug delivery dependent on the antibodies